The estimable xJane sent me a splendid idea for making an army of teeny googly-eyed minions, and she has kindly allowed me to share her technique. The only sticking point is that I can’t point you to an online source for the type of trim she mentions because I’m completely stumped as to what it’s formally called. I searched for half an hour for things like “fur fringe” and “fabric trim fur tufts” and the closest I got was fur braid which I’m not dead sure is the same stuff. So check your local craft/fabric stores and if you know of an online source let us know in the comments.

Take it away, xJane:

So you take one of these things, which is a trim that you can get at most fabric stores with little fur tufts connected to a ribbon by beads that they expect you to, I don’t know, put around your lamp or something?

And add googly eyes to it!!

So now you have a bunch of these:

(he looks a little worried and he should be because I’m about to cut his umbilical cord)

Leaving me with a saucer of tiny friends (the best kind—also they don’t talk, which is a plus—but they’re great listeners).

And then I place them strategically around my office. I can’t decide if these are theft protection for my teas or a slightly crazy companion for tea time.

Hello, cheap and easy way to create many tiny, silly friends. Hide them everywhere. Tuck them in coat pockets when nobody’s looking. Perch them on keyboards and let them gaze sternly at cubicle interlopers. Drop one in your kid’s lunchbox and leave them along with the tip at restaurants. Everybody needs a lurking minion or two, and this is a marvelous way to make people’s day a little more surreal. Brilliant.

(Incidentally, you could also leave them attached to their ribbon and use them as trim on lampshades or whatever. Then your lamp can read over your shoulder.)